GREATER NOIDA, INDIA - SEPTEMBER 29: Family members of Mohammad Akhlaq (50-year-old man) mourn during his funeral at their village in Bisada on September 29, 2015 in Greater Noida, India. Akhlaq was beaten to death and his son critically injured by a mob over an allegation of storing and consuming beef at home, late night on Monday, in UPs Dadri. Police and PAC were immediately deployed in the village to maintain law and order. Six persons were arrested in connection with the killing of man. (Photo by Burhaan Kinu/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

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The oldest known scriptures of Hinduism dictate that 'sinners' who slaughter cows should be killed, according to extreme right-wing party Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The cover story in the latest edition of the Sangh mouthpiece, 'Panchjanya', says that, "Veda ka adesh hai ki gau hatya karne wale pataki ke pran le lo. Hum mein se bahuton ke liye to yah jivan-maran ka prashn hai (The Vedas order that the sinner who killed a cow should be murdered. This is a matter of life and death for many of us)," reported Indian Express.

The author of the report, Vinay Krishna 'Tufail' Chaturvedi, told Express that the ancient Sanskrit texts refer frequently to prevention of cow slaughter, adding that 30.18 of the Yajurveda recommends 'capital punishment' to anyone who kills a cow.

“Gau-hatya Hinduon ke liye maan bindu hai (Cow slaughter is an issue of honour for Hindus). Muslims who commit such acts today are converted Hindus of Indian origin. It is important for social harmony that we respect faiths of each other,” Chaturvedi told Express.

Chaturvedi even managed to refer to Isaac Newton to propagate his argument, borrowing the celebrated scientist's third law of motion that every action must have an equal and opposite reaction, to justify the lynching of a 52-year-old Muslim man in Dadri over suspicion of having killed a cow. "Such reactions" cannot be prevented if "you do not respect the feelings of 80 per cent majority", according to the piece.

Referring to the Muslim population in India as 'converted Hindus', Chaturvedi wrote that they have been taught to "hate their origins", questioning writers who have returned their Sahitya Akademi awards in protest over the last month instead of condemning "these wicked persons", Express reported.

The Sangh-sanctioned piece even harked back to the pre-Indian independence revolt of 1857 to rationalise violence against Indians who kill or consume cows, claiming that the uprising had begun as Indian soldiers were asked to use cartridges greased with cow fat. Interestingly, the piece failed to mention that the same cartridges were believed to be also greased with pig fat, which would offend the sensibilities of the Muslim population as well.

Reacting to the report on Sunday, RSS' Manmohan Vaidya said, "The report that RSS supports Dadri incident is blatantly false and baseless. RSS never supported any incident of violence."